Life and Reviews

I WANT CHRISTMAS BACK

*Twas the month before Christmas*

*When all through our land,*

*Not a Christian was praying*

*Nor taking a stand.*

*See the PC Police had taken away,*

*The reason for Christmas – no one could say.*

*The children were told by their schools not to sing,*

*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.*

*It might hurt people’s feelings, the teachers would say*

* December 25th is just a ‘Holiday’.*

*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit*

*Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!*

*CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod*

*Something was changing, something quite odd! *

*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa*

*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.*

*As Targets were hanging their trees upside down*

* At Lowe’s the word Christmas – was no where to be found.*

*At K-Mart and Staples and Penny’s and Sears*

*You won’t hear the word Christmas; it won’t touch your ears.*

*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-is-ty*

*Are words that were used to intimidate me.*

*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen*

*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!*

*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter*

*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.*

*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith*

* Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace*

*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded*

*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.*

*So as you celebrate ‘Winter Break’ under your ‘Dream Tree’*

*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.*

*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*

*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS ,

Not Happy Holiday!*

Please, all Christians join together and

Wish everyone you meet during the

Holidays a

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christ is ‘The Reason’ for the Christ-mas Season!

SERVINGS: 8

METHOD: Slow Cooker

TIME: Prep: 5 min. Cook: 2 hours

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle (32 ounces) cranberry juice
• 1 can (32 ounces) pineapple juice
• 1/3 cup red-hot candies
• 1 cinnamon stick (3-1/2 inches)
• Additional cinnamon sticks, optional

Directions:

In a 3-qt. slow cooker, combine juices, red-hots and cinnamon stick. Cook on low for 2-5 hours. Discard cinnamon stick before serving. Use additional cinnamon sticks as stirrers if desired. Yield: 2 quarts.

Since we are getting to the final stages of our attic addition, the paint colors have been chosen, and now it is time to choose our lighting fixtures.  Murray Feiss are some of my very favorite lighting fixtures. 

I really enjoy choosing the items for the interior.  Fortunately, my husband couldn’t care less about the interior so it is entirely up to me.  I have no problem with that at all.  LOL.

One thing my husband doesn’t understand though…is that the same finish needs to be on each fixture within an area so that they coordinate?  There are so many finishes to choose from now.  I really like the nickel / pewter finish as well as the bronze finish.

I really think I want to try track lighting for the living area.  There are so many neat styles to choose from.  I really like the one that looks like a tree branch in bronze.  Happy shopping for me!!! 

What better drink than some nice hot spiced cider for your guests for the holidays? It will give a wonderful Christmas smell to your home as well.  This is one I am going to do this weekend while I finish wrapping gifts.

SERVINGS: 8

METHOD: Slow Cooker

TIME: Prep: 5 min. Cook: 2 hours

Ingredients:

• 2 cinnamon sticks (3 inches)
• 1 teaspoon whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon whole allspice
• 2 quarts apple cider
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 orange, sliced

Directions:

Place cinnamon, cloves and allspice in a double thickness of cheesecloth; bring up corners of cloth and tie with a string to form a bag. Place cider and brown sugar in a 3-qt. slow cooker; stir until sugar dissolves. Add spice bag. Place orange slices on top. Cover and cook on low for 2-5 hours. Remove spice bag before serving. Yield: 2 quarts.

When celebrating Christmas, it is important to take time to remember the reason for the celebration.  When all of the stores and business are taking the Christmas out of the celebrations, something is very wrong.  When we take Christ out of Christmas, we have totally denied the very reason for Christmas.

I think that with the economic stresses we currently have, it is a great time to cut back on our Christmas spending and actually reflect on what Christmas is all about.  Traditions are a good way to make sure that the true meaning is not forgotten. 

We love to have a birthday party for Jesus on Christmas morning with a birthday cake and everything.  Reading the Bible for the Christmas story on Christmas eve is another wonderful tradition that we enjoy.

Unfortunately, I am usually working on Christmas eve, Christmas day, or both since I work at a hospital.  This is something I really dislike.  We try to work our celebration around my schedule which is often difficult at best.

But, we need to remember to be thankful.  As Americans, we need to remember to be thankful for our freedom that we often take for granted.  Our military works round the clock to ensure that we are able to worship and celebrate as we choose.  Remember to pray for our military who are not able to be home with their families during this time of year. <><

If you are like me, when something can go wrong, it ususally does.  That is why travel insurance is important to consider when planning an expensive vacation.  Travel insurance is more often than not overlooked or viewed as an unnecessary expense.

While it is true that some types are better than others in terms of what is and what is not covered, that is something that should be considered when choosing travel insurance.  Just because the place you booked with offers travel insurance, it is not always the best bang for your buck. 

If traveling out of the country, you may want to consider the importance of being air lifted out if you are injured or become very ill.  That is an extra expense, but something I want to have if I am out of the country. 

The Travel Insurance Center can help you choose the insurance that is right for your trip or vacation.  Check out their web site for your travel insurance needs. 

We are so excited to be so close to having a place to live.  After losing our house to foreclosure, we have been living in our camper in my mom’s back yard for far too long.  We only slept in the camper, the rest of the time we were in the house.  Mom’s house is just so small, and their is NO privacy for any of us. 

When you have had your own home for 15 years and you suddenly find yourself homeless with two kids, it is pretty scary.  This economy has not been kind to anyone except the gasoline companies.

We are at the exciting part of building…picking out the colors of the walls and flooring.  Hopefully everything will be complete in a few weeks.  We made the entire attic living space.  It is a 20×30 foot space from which we will have a mastersuite with a bedroom, bath, small living area/kitchenette and a bathroom.  The kids will get a bedroom of their own downstairs.  We will finally have a bit of space and some much needed privacy.

My mom had her garage turned into a master bedroom suite to give some much needed living space a couple of years ago.  Craming an entire house of stuff into someone else’s house is not an easy task and unfortunately, some stuff you really didn’t want to get rid of has to go for lack of space. 

I guess you never realize how very little you need to actually make it in hard times.  We have learned that stuff just gets in the way.  We have been able to donate a ton of things to the needy.  I think this has certainly gave us a new perspective on the important things in life — each other.   We are very thankful this year to have our family, health, and a roof over our heads!